New Report Shows Govt. Revenue Exceeded Expectations In June
The federal government ran a $27 billion surplus in June, and every penny of it came from tariffs, marking the first time this has happened in modern history and chalking up another victory for President Donald Trump’s economic policies.
According to new numbers released Friday by the Treasury Department, revenue for the month totaled $526 billion while spending came in at $499 billion. The $27 billion difference lines up exactly with what the government pulled in from tariffs alone, The Center Square reported.
Gas prices also hit a four-year low, and grocery costs stayed flat throughout June, easing fears that tariffs would drive prices up. Instead, the data is pointing in the opposite direction.
“The tariff panic and inflation fearmongering from Democrats and their friends in the media hasn’t held up,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on social media. “[I]mported goods prices are down this year, falling even faster than overall goods prices.”
So far this year, the government has taken in $108 billion from tariffs, and Bessent says that number could hit $300 billion by year’s end.
Trump recently slapped a 50 percent tariff on imports from Brazil and added tariffs of 25 percent to 40 percent on products from more than a dozen other nations, including U.S. allies.
Critics warn that the aggressive trade policy could strain international relationships. But fiscal conservatives and deficit hawks are praising the move, saying it’s a bold way to bring in revenue without raising taxes.
Republicans in Congress are hoping tariff revenue will help offset costs tied to Trump’s multitrillion-dollar “big, beautiful bill,” which locks in most of the 2017 tax cuts and adds new pro-growth measures.
A Napolitan News poll found that 61 percent of voters believe economic growth matters more than reducing government spending. Just 28 percent said the opposite.
Trump announced that starting this past Friday, his administration would begin imposing “reciprocal” tariffs on countries that have not reached a tentative trade agreement with the U.S., with some of the new tariffs reaching as high as “60 or 70%.”
“We’re going to start sending letters out to various countries starting [Friday]. We’ll probably have 10 or 12 go out,” the president told reporters after midnight as he returned from a speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, the New York Post reported.
“I think by the 9th [of July] they’ll be fully covered, and they will range in value from maybe 60 or 70% tariffs to 10 and 20% tariffs,” he added.
The higher rates suggest Trump may raise tariffs on certain countries beyond the levels outlined in his April 2 “Liberation Day” announcement, which set a new baseline tariff of 10%—about three times the previous rate—and imposed steep duties on nations with significant trade imbalances with the U.S.
The highest previously announced “reciprocal” tariffs—tied to each country’s trade deficit with the U.S.—were 49% for Cambodia, a major producer of clothing and footwear; 48% for neighboring Laos; and 47% for Madagascar, the world’s leading exporter of vanilla.
“We’ve done the final form, and it’s basically going to explain what the countries are going to be paying in tariffs,” Trump told reporters early in the day on Friday.
“It’s a lot of money for the country, but we’re giving them a bargain. … I don’t want to stretch it too much, we want to keep it pretty reasonable,” he said, per The Post.
Trump stated that he expected to send up to a dozen letters to countries each day until the Wednesday deadline he set for negotiations.
“As we get to the smaller countries, we’re pretty much going to keep the tariffs the same,” he said. “They’ll start to pay on Aug. 1. The money will start to come into the United States on Aug. 1 in pretty much all cases.”
June job growth once again beat expectations, inflation held close to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target at 2.4% in May, and major stock market indices reached record highs this past week.
Trump Warns Iran of ‘Total Obliteration’ if They Try To Harm Him HH
President Donald Trump warned Iran that continued assassination threats made by leaders in Tehran would be met with the country getting “blown up” and “total obliteration.”
“Well, they shouldn’t be doing it but I’ve left notification,” Trump said. “Anything ever happens, we’re going to blow the whole — the whole country’s going to get blown up.”
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Biden-era Intelligence officials briefed Trump about the alleged threats against him during his presidential campaign in 2024. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland said the plot was retaliation for the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani by the U.S. in 2020, during Trump’s first administration.
Despite being briefed by his administration, Trump on Tuesday said President Biden “should have said something” on the matter, adding that presidents should defend each other on such matters.
“But I have very firm instructions,” Trump continued. “Anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth.”
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Trump also spoke about the ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran in Geneva.
“What are you expecting from these Iran talks in Geneva?” a reporter asked Trump aboard Air Force One.
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“So, I’ll be involved in those talks indirectly, and they’ll be very important. We’ll see what can happen. Typically, Iran’s a very tough negotiator; they’re good negotiators — or bad negotiators. I would say they’re bad negotiators because we could have had a deal instead of sending the B2s to knock out their nuclear potential. We had to send the B2s. I hope they’re going to be more reasonable. They want to make a deal,” Trump said.
“Have you been told that a deal is next to impossible?” the reporter followed up.
Trump replied, “No. I think they want to make a deal. I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal. They want to make a deal.”
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Trump previously said that he instructed officials to destroy Iran if they killed him.
The president said this after signing an executive order right after taking office that gave him all the tools he needed to talk to Iran’s government and put as much pressure on Tehran as possible.
“They haven’t done that and that would be a terrible thing for them to do,” Trump said at the time. “Not because of me — if they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. I’ve left instructions, if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left. And, they shouldn’t be able to do it.”
Trump warned last week that the United States could send additional warships toward Iran if ongoing diplomatic negotiations fail to produce a deal, signaling that military pressure could increase as talks over Tehran’s nuclear program stall.
In remarks to Axios, Trump said the administration is considering deploying a second aircraft carrier strike group to the region in addition to the USS Abraham Lincoln and 9 additional warships already positioned near Iran, though he expressed hope that a diplomatic agreement can still be reached.
“Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,” the president told Axios on Tuesday, a reference to the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites in June.
“Last time they didn’t believe I would do it. They overplayed their hand,” Trump added. “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going.”
The president emphasized that the United States is seeking to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions, halt the development of its ballistic missile program, and end support for militant proxy groups. Iranian officials have so far resisted expanding negotiations beyond nuclear-related issues.
He described the nuclear issue as a “matter of course” part of any negotiation, but also insisted that an agreement with Iran must also address Tehran’s ballistic missile stockpiles, per Axios.
Trump said the US “can make a great deal with Iran,” and Tehran “very much wants to make a deal.”
Trump’s comments came ahead of a planned visit to Washington, D.C. by Benjamin Netanyahu, who is expected to press for a tougher U.S. stance and broader terms for any Iran deal that would include constraints on Tehran’s missile capabilities and regional activities.
Before heading to DC, the Israeli leader previewed some of what he and Trump were going to discuss.
“I will present to the president our understanding of the principles of the negotiations (with Iran) – the essential principles that are important not only to Israel – but to everyone who wants peace and security in the Middle East,” Netanyahu told reporters, per the New York Post.
The administration has already bolstered its military presence in the Middle East, with multiple warships and aircraft deployed as a means of deterrence and leverage.
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